Bruno Fernandes faced the cameras after Manchester United’s bruising 3-0 loss to Manchester City and gave a candid assessment of what went wrong at the Etihad.
City were dominant from the start, with Phil Foden heading in the opener after being left unmarked, before Erling Haaland struck twice to seal the result. The second came after a costly mistake from Luke Shaw, who gifted Haaland space to race through United’s half. The striker had already wasted an earlier chance after a sloppy pass from Manuel Ugarte put Matthijs de Ligt under unnecessary pressure.
Fernandes, who was pushed into a deeper role beside Ugarte, struggled to influence the attack and could do little to turn the tide. The defeat has piled further scrutiny on manager Ruben Amorim, who has yet to string back-to-back league victories together since taking charge in December.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Fernandes admitted his side were punished for avoidable mistakes. “What we did today was not enough to get the result. We need to score goals and not concede – that’s the main thing in football. We keep creating but we don’t finish, and then we give away goals we could have prevented.”
When asked about City’s dominance in midfield, Fernandes pushed back at the idea United were outnumbered. He explained that United’s back line needed to step up aggressively to prevent overloads. “If the players behind don’t press, the midfielders become outnumbered. That’s why in the game against Arsenal we managed to stop them – we made the spaces tight. Against City, if you’re not brave enough to step forward, they’ll always find a way to play.”
The captain admitted the scoreline was damaging but pointed out there were still positives. He insisted United had played progressively and bravely with the ball but lacked sharpness in the final third. “We wanted what City got – three points – but our chances weren’t finished cleanly enough. That’s the difference.”
